Psilent Night
by ShinMarsDragon
Summary: Athena's giving a concert in Southtown, when it's attacked by strange enemies! Can Athena overcome the challenges and save Christmas?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: A day late and a dollar short. Oh well.

* * *

The stage lights up, and Athena runs forward with a happy smile. "Helloooooooo Southtown! Merry Christmas! We've got a great concert for you tonight - ARE YOU READY?!" The crowd cheers as more lights play over them, and Athena bursts into song.

"Athena's name is magic~ Mystery...is what you see~"

A bit of snow falls as Athena dances in front of a massive, fully-decorated Christmas tree. Her costume sparkles, her hair swirls behind her, and her voice is clear and beautiful. Over on the side of the stage, Kensou and a man with long blond hair in a police uniform are watching with appreciation.

"Awthena's concert is awmazing! Sawuthtown's ouaphans ah real lucky!" Kensou says cheerfully, watching Athena with a huge smile on his face.

"That's right, Kensou! With the money the concert brings in we'll be able to build a new orphanage for sure!" The man grins, which quickly turns into an expression of anger. "Hey you! What are you doing here?!"

The words are addressed to a group of men in fedoras and trenchcoats trying to sneak on-stage behind Athena. The men don't turn around, but tear off their coats to reveal gigantic cyborg lizards! The lizards rush towards the Christmas tree behind the shocked Athena, who breaks off singing in surprise.

The lizardmen knock over the Christmas tree, laughing the whole time. "Hail the return of the old gods! Destroy the new magic!"

"Stop that! Before I stop you!" Athena runs forward, but a lizardman knocks her flat on her butt. Kensou races to her side, but is unable to do anything while the lizardmen knock over the Christmas tree, smashing ornaments and scattering tinsel before flying off, cackling. The concert is ruined. The crowd stands there, murmuring in disbelief. A few break off and leave, shaking their fists at Athena for letting it happen.

The blond man watches them go, a serious expression on his face. "The crowd's really disappointed. Southtown's lost its Christmas cheer..."

"It's terrible," Athena says as she gets up, clutching her upper arm. "We can let it end like this! I put everything into this concert, I can't let everyone down! For the children!"

The man turns to face her. "Well you see-"

"Aw, who cares? Christmas is for jerks!" A young boy interrupts from the side. He has bright red hair and a surly expression.

"Don't say that!" Athena cries, kneeling down in front of him. "Christmas is a special time, when you spend time with your family and get presents!"

"So? I don't have a family, and I don't get any presents! I bet you think Santa is real too!" the boy spits and runs away.

"Wow, he's got a real attitude prawblem," Kensou says as he watches the boy leave. Athena nods sadly, then turns back to the blond man, who was watching the entire conversation.

"A lot of kids are like that, here in Southtown. It's a big problem. But now, we need to figure out what's up with these lizardmen before they ruin Christmas for everyone!" he says.

"You're right, Police Commissioner Bogard!" Athena says intently. "Kensou and I will go ask Master Chin what these old gods are. He might have a clue!"

"Aw, that ol' geezer? Fuhgeddaboudit!" Kensou grumps, but the police commissioner just nods solemnly.

"Thanks, Athena! I'll go talk to General Heidern of the Ikari Warriors. We need some backup on this case!" So saying, the police commissioner stands there.

"All right, time to go find Master Chin. He lives deep in the mountains, but my Psychic Teleport will get us there in no time! Ready, Kensou?" Kensou grumbles, but he moves to stand next to Athena as she raises her arm and glows with power. They both disappear in a flash.

* * *

On the top of a snow-covered mountain there's a small hut with an old man sitting outside, meditating. He doesn't move, even when Athena and Kensou run up to see him. Athena's changed from her concert outfit to her standard fighting clothes, while Kensou is still wearing the same jacket as always. Athena gets there first and kneels respectfully before the old man. "Master Chin? It's me, Athena! I have something important to ask you!"

"I know, dear child," Chin says, slow and careful. His voice reverberates with quiet wisdom. "The old gods are making their move now, during this important season."

"Wha? What's thait supposed ta mean, Master Chin?" Kensou says when he catches up with the pair.

"The old gods are the ones who used to hold sway over the Earth... In times past, Athena's great ancestor, also named Athena, drove them back with her magical fire sword and brought peace to the entire world as part of her divine mission. Then she passed down her powers to her descendants, trusting them with the task of keeping the Earth forever safe from the terrible schemes of the old gods. But now they have returned, and it is your duty to stop them, Athena!" Chin's eyes snap open on the last word and he points directly at Athena, who looks shocked.

"I must..." Athena hesitates, then clenches her fist and raises her head. Her face is determined. "Yes, I must! Tell me where to go, Master!"

Chin frowns, staring off into the distance. All around them the landscape is stark, with sharp white snow meeting a pale sky. "I do not know...not even my powers are enough to guess where the old gods will strike next...but you must find out, Athena! And soon!"

"Wao, big halp..." Kensou mutters, earning him a glare and a shushing from Athena.

Chin ignores them both. "They will not concern themselves with scattershot attacking for long," he says, frowning. "They will strike somewhere big...at the heart of magic..."

"The heart of magic..." Athena says, looking downwards. "If that's not here, then where...?"

"Aw c'mon Athena! These jokers ain't sahttle, we cawn find out whawt they're doin' jus' goin' down the street!" Kensou slaps Athena on the back.

"Maybe, Kensou!" she says, bouncing to her feet. "Oh wait, I know! We can stop by and see General Heidern! He might know something!"

"That is a good idea, Athena. Already, you show wisdom..." Chin nods in approval. "But before you go, would you please get me some tea? I can't live without my special blend..."

"Of course, Master! I know how much that tea means to you!" Athena smiles and heads into the hut. "Hurry, Kensou! We need to get to General Heidern as quick as we can, or the world is in danger!"

There's a bright flash from the mountaintop, and then it is once more peaceful and still.

* * *

"Good to see you, Athena," General Heidern says from behind his desk as she comes in. "We've just been talking about this threat of the old gods. We've received reports of them attacking all over America, but nothing in the past half hour..."

"NORAD is monitoring the airspace carefully," a blue-haired young woman in a sharply pressed uniform says with crisp precision. "If they move, we'll see them."

"Thank you, Leona," General Heidern says, then turns back to Athena.

"I'm afraid I don't know anything more than you, General, but whatever you're planning, make me a part of it! I have to defeat the old gods as my solemn duty!" Athena cries, face set with determination.

"I'm glad to hear you say that! I'd like you to work together with my team for this mission: Ralf, Clark, and my daughter Leona. You won't find a braver set of soldiers anywhere." General Heidern nods to two burly men standing in the background, and then at the blue-haired woman. "Once we have an idea about where to go next-"

"Sir!" The burly man in a blue cap, Clark, turns from the monitor he was studying with a shout. "We have a bogey! Large mass, heading north!"

"North?!" the rest of the room shouts at once.

"That's right, due north. With this heading..." Clark hunches over the monitor, then jerks back in shock. "They're going to the North Pole!"

"Sawnta!" Kensou shouts, at the same time Athena says: "the heart of the magic! Of course! Master Chin was right!"

"Mobilize at once!" General Heidern shouts from behind his desk, sweeping his arm through the air. "We have to save Santa Claus! Ikari Warriors, head out!"

"Roger!"

* * *

The Ikari Warriors, Athena, and Kensou are all crammed into a plane flying over a snowy wasteland. Ralf is piloting, while everyone else is sitting against the sides of the craft. Athena has her knees to her chin and is looking morose. Kensou reaches out and pats her on the back. "Aw, whawt's wrong, Awthena? We're awlmost there! Don'cha worry abowt a thing!"

Athena raises her head with a small smile. "Thanks, Kensou. It's just so much! The old gods, my destiny...it wasn't too long ago that I was just an ordinary high-schooler, and now I have to save the world from darkness!"

"Ya were nevah owrdinary, Athena. Nawt many high schoolers ah world-famous music stahs, ya naow! And besidaies, well... Naw, fuhgeddaboudit..." Kensou trails off, looking embarrassed, before there's a massive bang and the whole plane starts shaking.

"They hit us!" Ralf yells from the cockpit. "We're going down!"

Leona and Clark spring into action. Leona puts on a parachute and tosses another to Athena in the same moment. "Here! Put this on, and pull the string as soon as you're clear!"

Athena and Kensou obey, just as another shot hits the plane, and then another. Shaking and stumbling, they barely make it to the door Clark opened in time.

Outside, the plane is being harried by bulbous green creatures with metal wings that rotate like helicopter blades. They're all around the plane, and every so often one of them charges, smashing into the plane and doing massive damage to the hull. Behind them a woman with snake hair stands in mid-air, laughing manically.

"Hahahaha! Look! Is this all the bloodline of the mighty Athena has come to? A sniveling little schoolgirl?" she sneers directly at Athena. "Pathetic! We'll end you before you even get to the North Pole, and then no one will be able to stop us from destroying Christmas and re-taking the world! Once again humanity will tremble before us!"

"Not as long as I'm here!" Athena stands on the edge of the plane, hand held high. Next to her Kensou is watching the rapidly approaching ground with wide eyes. "I'll end you, and save the world!"

"Awthena, ya'd bettah take a look..."

"Hahahahah! Can you really? Blademice, attack!" The snake-haired woman laughs and points at Athena, sending a procession of little creatures flying towards her.

"Psychic baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall!" There's a flash of pink light, and when it clears the blademice are gone, and just Athena and Kensou are left on the descending craft. "You need to do better than that to beat me! Now- whoa!"

"Awthena, JAWMP!" Not waiting for permission, Kensou grabs Athena around the waist and throws them both off the plane. Their parachutes open safely, carrying them to the icy ground.

"Oh! Thanks, Kensou! That was clo-oh no!" Before Athena can finish her sentence, more blademice start attacking their parachutes. Within seconds, they're falling again, just as quickly as before...with the ground coming up fast.


	2. Chapter 2

Athena slides down the mountain, with pink energy gathered at her feet and Kensou clinging to her back with his eyes closed. She skates along, feet apart like she's on a snowboard. "You can open your eyes, Kensou! We're fine! My psychic powers saved us, and now we're making good time to the North Pole!"

"Ah'll keep 'em shut, if it's all the same ta ya!"

Athena adjusts her weight and cuts a sharp curve down the mountain. There's nothing ahead of them but snow, snow, and more snow, but she keeps a sharp eye on the horizon anyway. Eventually her eyes narrow as she spots a few black dots and angles her psychic snowboard towards them.

"Kensou! I see something out there, and I'm heading for it! Maybe it's the Ikari Warriors!"

"An' mawybe it's a beawr!" Kensou still refuses to open his eyes for the fast-paced rush down the mountain.

Pretty soon the black dots are growing bigger, revealing...

"Oh no! It's a trap! The old gods are already here!" Athena cries out on seeing the mess of cyborg lizardmen, blademice, and other beasties. But it's too late to change course, the pair is heading straight for the centre of the group, where the snake-haired woman stands on top of a raised platform.

"I need to summon all my psychic energy..." Athena says, and closes her eyes in concentration. A faint pink glow gathers around her, and just as they reach the group of old gods and Kensou has started panicking, Athena throws herself forward, barely dodging under slashing blades and grasping hands. She's directly on course for the platform, and just as the snake-haired woman turns to watch them with cruel, villainous eyes, Athena kicks out her psychic snowboard and slides herself and Kensou right under the platform, between the posts. Past that, there's nothing.

"Awrite Awthena! We're home free!" Kensou grins and holds onto her shoulders. "Nah, wait...that's aw cliff! Athena! Pull-"

"It's too late!" Athena yells as they both fly over the previously hidden cliff just past the old god's encampment. The snake-haired woman watches them go, laughing.

* * *

"Ugh..." Athena opens her eyes, blinking in the bright light. She's in a large, comfortable bed, under a pile of thick blankets. She sits up slowly, looking around an old-fashioned room, crowded with furniture and knick-knacks, all with a distinctly holiday theme. There are bunches of holly wrapped in ribbon pinned to the walls, candy canes in a glass on the endtable, and toys all around. Athena takes it all in slowly. "Where am I...?"

"Thank goodness you're awake!" A cheerful voice rings out. Athena turns to look and doesn't see anything. "Ah, down here, please." Turning her gaze downward, Athena sees a little man in a green tailcoat and a little green cap, who straightens up when she looks at him. "Ringle-bell the elf, at your service!"

"...the elf...? Then this is..." Athena murmurs.

"That's right, Santa's workshop! We picked up all your friends - even the scary ones - and they're all waiting for you in the dining room. You'd better hurry - we're in a lot of trouble, and the big man wants to talk to you especially." The elf speaks rapidly as he drags Athena out of bed and marches her out the door and down the hall. "I'm so glad you came! Everything's an awful mess because of those old gods - any more delays and we might have to cancel Christmas!"

"Oh no! We can't do that - I have a friend in Southtown that needs Christmas more than ever!" Athena shakes off her exhaustion and starts trotting alongside Ringle-bell. He's able to perfectly match her longer stride somehow.

Within a few seconds they're at the doors to a massive dining room, filled with long tables covered in every sort of holiday food: turkeys and hams, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce, unidentifiable greens and plates of cookies. All around elves are grabbing bites to eat as they rush about, never bothering to sit down. The only table with occupants is the largest one, where the Ikari Warriors and Kensou are scarfing down food under the watchful gaze of Santa Claus himself. He looks up and gestures Athena over.

"Come, come and sit down! Eat! You need to keep up your strength!" He waves her to a free seat next to Kensou, who doesn't even look up from stuffing his face.

Athena sits down, but doesn't touch the food the elves serve up for her. "I'm glad to meet you, Santa, but we need to do something about these old gods!"

"That's right, we do!" Santa agrees, and settles back into his large, overstuffed chair. "It's all a mess up here. They've been getting in the way of toy production for months - we had no idea it was them for the longest time - destroying decorations, causing avalanches, and now they've scattered my reindeer! If we don't find them quick, I won't be able to go out tonight and we'll have to cancel Christmas!"

Everyone, even the Ikari Warriors, gasps. Athena leans forward, face set with concern. "We can search for your reindeer, Santa, but that's not what worries me! Kensou and I went through a big camp of the old gods on our way here, and it looked like they were planning something big!"

"Something big, huh..." Santa strokes his beard contemplatively. "I wonder what that could be? As if losing all my reindeer wasn't enough!"

"Matha Che saww-" Kensou swallows his mouthful of food and tries again. "Mawstah Chin sawid they wanted to 'strayke awt the hawt of mawgic'. What could thawt mean?"

"The heart of magic!" Santa slams his fist down on the table, making everyone jump. "It's what powers the workshop and veils us from the eyes of the world. Apologies to you all-" he looks at the Ikari Warriors "-but with all your spy satellites and exploration vessels it's getting so an elf can't hide anywhere anymore! And I have to keep hidden, or next thing you know there'd be businessmen and tourists all over and we'd never get anything done. If they can destroy the heart of magic, they'd leave us all out in the cold!"

The Ikari Warriors nod as Athena looks around, eyes wide. "Then we can't let them have it!" she declares. "What can we do?"

Santa is just about to answer her when a massive thud echoes throughout the hall and the entire building shakes. Dust falls from the rafters, and every elf has to grab onto something to stay upright. Santa rises, solid and immovable. "What in tarnation is going on?!"

"So-sorry sir, but, but..." Ringle-bell rushes in again, winging his hands, clearly agitated. "The veil was torn! The old gods got in! And...and they brought a dragon!"

* * *

Outside, Santa's Workshop is in chaos. Elves are rushing everywhere, buildings are being crushed, and there's a massive red and green dragon roaring in the middle of it all. It has an elongated head, long, narrow jaws, and a twisting, serpentine neck that follows some fleeing elves before unleashing a blast of fire at the mountainside. The fire weakens the ice, causing an avalanche that buries the poor elves up to their necks.

The party stops in their tracks and stare in shock. "It's huge! Is that what they brought?" Athena asks, eyes wide.

"You have to stop it!" Santa yells. "The heart of magic is right behind us - if it gets to that, it's all over! We're already going to have a hard time patching up the veil!" He gestures behind him, to where a large, placid pool of miraculously unfrozen water sits. It's glowing faintly, seemingly untouched by anything around it.

"Roger," Leona says, and the Ikari Warriors spring into action. They rush at the dragon, but are knocked away with one sweep of its gigantic head. They all land in a snowdrift, stunned.

"It's up to us! Ready, Kensou?" Athena cries, and both psychic soldiers run forward themselves. Athena charges up her psychic power and with a loud "Psychic baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall!" throws it directly at the dragon.

The dragon shrugs it off without even flinching. Kensou runs up and punches it, fists glowing with power, but that's not enough to penetrate the dragon's thick hide. He's knocked away too, and skids until he smashes into the side of a workshop.

Even after that, Athena's not ready to give up yet. She stands between Kensou and the dragon, charging up her power into four glittering balls of psychic energy that swirl around her, faster and faster, until they blast away from her with tremendous speed and smash directly into the dragon's skull...to no effect. "No...no way!" she says, hand in front of her mouth.

"That's right, modern Athena!" the voice of the snake-haired woman echoes down, and Athena looks up to see her standing on the edge of the cliff above Santa's Workshop. "The bloodline is weak after the passing of so many years! You don't stand a chance against us! All we need to do is capture the heart of Christmas magic and the world will be ours again...forever!"

"I won't let- aaaaah!" Athena's brave words are interrupted when one swipe of the dragon's claws knocks her off her feet and into the stone rim around the heart of magic. She struggles to her feet, clutching her arm.

The Ikari Warriors and Kensou are still down, and Santa is watching in terror as the dragon gets closer and closer to the pool. Up above, the snake-haired woman watches eagerly as the shadow of the dragon falls across the pool and the weakened Athena.

Athena squints through tired eyes as the dragon leans down, its jaws opening in a fearsome grin. Gritting her teeth, she stands up. "My ancestor put you in your place, and I'm going to send you right back! No matter what, you're not getting through me!"

"Brave words," the snake-haired woman sneers, before she's interrupted by a bright pink light. "What?"

Athena is glowing, her eyes closed and one hand raised to the sky. Above her there's a brief, wavering image of a young woman with the same purple hair wearing a Greek-style robe before it disappears in a flash as a long sword comes floating down out of the sky and into Athena's waiting hand. As soon as it touches her, it bursts into flame.

Athena opens her eyes and brings the sword down, ready to swing. "Athena! Here I gooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

She jumps into the air, flying straight past the dragon, which turns around, too late to catch her, and too late the snake-haired woman sees Athena's coming for her. She turns and tries to escape, but Athena pulls her sword back and takes a massive swing at the ice cliff itself.

The heat of the sword's flames melt the ice, collapsing the entire cliff. The woman is lost in the chaos as the entire mess comes falling down...right on top of the pursuing dragon.

When the falling ice clears, all is still. Then the dragon's head pokes up through the ice. It blinks, circles twice, and flops over, unconscious. A few snakes pop up a little bit away, but none of them move.

Athena lands slowly, the sword and glow fading as she collapses. Kensou barely manages to catch her before she hits the ground.

"That was great, Awthena!" Kensou enthuses, holding her up. "They ain't gonna be comin' 'round here awgain! The elves ar awready locking 'em up."

"Oh...good..." Athena sighs before forcing herself back on her feet to meet Santa. He's striding across the ice field to them, laughing the whole way.

"Wonderful, Athena! Don't worry about the rest of the old gods, my elves can take care of them! With this, the heart of Christmas is safe for another year, and Christmas can go on!" He stops suddenly. "If we can ever find my reindeer, that is..."

"We will search for them," Leona says, with Ralf and Clark right behind her. "Mission accepted."

"Don't worry about a thing, we're great at finding stuff!" Ralf shouts cheerfully. "Reindeer search and rescue's just another part of the job."

An elf runs up and whispers to Santa, who turns pale. "Already? But we just...oh dear." He turns back to the crowd with a frown on his face. "I'm sorry, but it's not going to be enough. You see...to hit my schedule, I have to leave right now. Unless you can find my reindeer in the next five minutes...it's over."

Everyone slumps. Then Athena straightens up, a fire in her eyes. "I know what to do! The heart of magic's right here! And that means..."

"Naow wawy, Awthena!"

"That's right, Kensou!" Athena grins and twirls. "Watch me change!" Rainbow light gathers around Athena, brighter and brighter, as her figure blurs - then disappears in a flash, leaving a gigantic phoenix with long purple hair standing where the girl Athena was. She gives a loud, cheerful cry.

"Fantastic!" Santa says, clapping his hands. "Thank you, Athena! Harness yourself to the sleigh - we have presents to deliver!" The phoenix gives another cry of agreement as elves gather around, dragging Santa's sleigh behind them.

* * *

Phoenix Athena pulls Santa's sleigh across the heavens with long, graceful strokes of her wings, while back in the sleigh Santa is checking his list and Kensou rifles through the bag for the next present to deliver. Surrounding them is an escort of fighter jets, courtesy of the Ikari Warriors. Ralf gives Athena a thumbs-up from the cockpit as they fly past.

"Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!" Santa cries, punctuated by Athena's breath of flame. Far below them, the red-haired boy from Southtown is holding a present, and he looks up just in time to see the phoenix-drawn sleigh fly across the moon. He's smiling as he waves them goodbye, faith in Christmas restored.

The scene freezes, and the credits start to roll.

DIRECTED BY

Alan Smithee

WRITTEN BY

Marcus Drakken

VOICE CAST

Samantha Newark  
Dave McBurnsley  
Frank Welker

* * *

"That suuuuuuuuuuuuuucked!" Piece said, Kensou slumped onto the couch. "Why did you let them get away with it, Athena?"

"I liked it," Athena said defensively. "It had some good parts. And the production company arranged it as part the attempt to break into America, I didn't have anything to do with it."

"I liked it too," Kaori said as she took another sip of her drink. "A bit silly, but it was fun."

"Yeah! Me too!" Bao chimed in.

"Seriously? Even you, Bao?" Kensou made a noise of disgust. "The script was bad, the animation was worse, the voice acting was /awful/-"

"That's why I liked it!" Bao interrupted.

Kensou opened his mouth, closed it again, and finally sank back into his seat. "Fine, fine, whatever. As long as Athena liked it it's fine. Someone get me some of that candy over there." The bag floated into his outstretched hand, wiggling slightly as Bao and Athena both fought over control, then slamming into Kensou when Athena gave up with a giggle. "...thanks, both of you."

"You're welcome," Athena said as she stood up and smoothed out her skirt. "Well, that was fun, but I have to get going. I only have fifteen minutes before my next rehearsal, and I can't be late."

"Busy as always? Idols have it rough." Kaori smiled and got up with her. "I'll walk you to rehearsal, if you don't mind."

"Wait, wait, before you go," Kensou scrambled out of the couch, spilling snacks everywhere. His face was screwed up with desperate intent. "Athena, what are you doing for Christmas?"

"Huh? Didn't I tell you? I have a big concert Christmas Eve; that's what I'm rehearsing for. It's a huge pain...oh, but don't tell my manager I said that!"

Kensou's face fell. "So...you're not gonna be around on Christmas."

"Nope!"

"Well...what about you, Kaori?"

Kaori gave Kensou a cheerful smile. "I'm going to Athena's concert, of course! By the way, Athena, did you manage to get those tickets I asked for?"

"Yep! Talk to my manager, he's got them. It's going to be so much fun, I can't wait!" Athena grinned and took hold of Kaori's hand, dragging her out the door. "Bye bye now! Kensou, don't let Bao stay up too late!"

And they were gone.

Kensou flopped back onto the couch, spreading his limbs out like a starfish. "I can't believe this! Alone on Christmas! My life sucks."

Bao dodged a sprawling foot to settle himself on the far end of the couch. "You can hang out with me if you want," he offered. "Miss Kaori took me around Tokyo the other day and I found this great store full of Mega-CD games! I was going to spend Christmas playing Ernest Evans, wanna come?"

Kensou raised his head just enough that Bao could see his flat expression before letting it fall right back onto the couch. "Alone on Christmas...my life sucks..."

Gourd clutched close, Chin snored on the floor, dead to the world.

* * *

A/N: As usual, this is just an excuse to make lots of Psycho Soldier jokes, though I also appreciate getting to poke some fun at the wonderful garbage Christmas specials I've been watching for the past couple weeks. (yes, I am Bao) Remember, if something in the TV special sucked, it's _Marcus Drakken's_ fault, not mine.


End file.
